Four sisters reveal details of harassment for first time1:15

Four sisters reveal details of sexual abuse for first time.Source:Supplied

There are times when Jillian Heneker cries herself to sleep.

She was only eight years old when she was sexually assaulted by a man known to her family.

Mrs Heneker and her three sisters grew up in Leonora, a remote town in Western Australia, 833kms northeast of Perth — a small town scared into silence.

The sisters — together with many others — feared if they told their story they would be shamed and accused of lying.

So instead they said nothing at all, not even to each other.

But what happened in Leonora in the 1970s has stayed with the four sisters their entire lives.

A teary Mrs Henker, who is now 55-year-old, recalled the moment her life was turned upside down.

“All I remember is him putting me on the table in the bathroom. It was one of those old, hospital bedside tables, the metal ones,” Mrs Heneker said of a member close to the family.

“It wasn’t just that one time,” she explained. “He sexually assaulted me a couple of times, but back then I thought it was the natural thing to happen — I didn’t know what was right, or wrong.”

It was only when she was 32 years old that she built the courage to tell her mother.

“I told her just before she passed away,” Mrs Heneker said.

To help other sexual abuse victims speak out, Mrs Heneker together with her three sisters Sharon Hume, 59 and Rosemary Bailey, 57 have shared their emotional and heartbreaking story in a documentary titled, Let Them Speak.

Mrs Heneker also hopes it will allow for programs to be designed to support sexual assault victims.

“If we can save one or two people with our stories, that will make us happy. I am proud of my sisters for doing it,” she said.

Mrs Heneker went on to explain that her concerned mother was upset with her for not having told her earlier.

“But I just felt she was going to think I was talking stupid.”

After 30 years of marriage, Mrs Heneker and her husband, who share three children together, got a divorce.

She blames her past for the breakup.

“Growing up I thought I would never find a partner of any description, I still feel that way all the time and maybe that is why my marriages and relationships dissolved,” she said.

“I know that there are a lot of people who are too scared to come forward with things like that — I am telling my story for the younger generation, and the older generation to find their confidence to talk about it.”

For First Nations children who have suicided or attempted suicide, at least one in four have been sexually abused, said Gerry Georgatos, national co-ordinator of the National Indigenous Critical Service.

“The rates of sexual violence and assaults/abuse are higher in remote and regional Australia,” he said, explaining.

“In one-third of child and youth suicides there had been sexual violence perpetrated,” Mr Georgatos said.

“Early last year, in a remote community, three children, aged 6, 8 and 10 years, attempted suicide together, from the same tree, only to be saved by older children passing by.”

Mrs Heneker said the issue is still prevalent today, with many young children suffering out of fear of not being able to speak up.

Barbara and Sharon.Source:Supplied

“A lot of people are suffering deeper than what I am which is why we need more people like Gerry to help those suffering get through it,” Mrs Heneker said.

Mr Georgatos, who is also a suicide prevention and trauma recovery researcher, said he is

For sisters Sharon Hume and Rosemary Bailey, it was particularly difficult to seek help at the time of the assaults as the perpetrator was someone particularly close to the family — and neither of them was aware of it happening to the other until they shared their story before the documentary.

“I just made myself strong so I didn’t have to think about it,” Mrs Hume said

“It was so hard for me to talk about because he was so close to the family. So I had to hold it all in and not say anything.

It wasn’t until Mrs Hume was in her mid-30s when her aunty explained what had happened to both her and Mrs Bailey.

But it wasn’t just one person, Mrs Hume was also molested by a good friend of her grandfather.

“He would always play around with the kids outside, but little did we know the type of person he was,” Mrs Hume said.

The sisters are all in support of the Let Her Speak campaign. Pictured is (L-R) Sharon and Rosemary.Source:Supplied

Mrs Hume said it took her years to find the strength to tell her husband.

“I didn’t know how to talk about it and I didn’t what the reaction was going to be back then — I felt I couldn’t even say it to my own husband,” she said.

“After telling my story I don’t feel like I am worthless anymore — I feel so strong emotionally and physically by telling my story.”

Barbara McGilvray, 61, the eldest of the sisters also feels safe and secure after sharing her horrific experience.

“I told my story so that people know that they are not alone — and they too can talk about it, and report it,” she said. “The importance of telling your story is so that does it doesn’t follow on from family to family, generation to generation, have to break that cycle.”

“The legislation needs to be changed. Sexual assault victims need to be able to tell their stories and fight for their rights, otherwise this is going to keep happening,” Mrs Hume said, adding that the problem is only getting bigger.

The sisters shared their stories for the first time with the public and each other in a documentary titled Let Them Speak. It is commissioned by the Institute for Social Justice and Human Rights in conjunction with the forming National Sexual Abuse Trauma Recovery team. It is due for release in March 2019.

WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT & SUICIDE

Australia’s suicide prevention and poverty researcher Gerry Georgatos is calling for a Royal Commission into the countries increasing suicide toll.

While the landscape into Institutional Settings has changed allowing victims past and present to speak, there are near to no freely accessible services to adequately support victims, Mr Georgatos said, particularly children who have recently been sexually abused.

He is currently developing a national support taskforce to work with affected children, focusing on trauma recovery and care co-ordination.

“In one-third of child and youth suicides there had been sexual violence perpetrated,” Mr Georgatos said.

“The rates of sexual violence and assaults/abuse are higher in remote and regional Australia.

“Early last year, in a remote community, three children, aged 6, 8 and 10 years, attempted suicide together, from the same tree, only to be saved by older children passing by. Sexual abuse had hurt them.”

According to Mr Georgatos, nearly 100 per cent of First Nations suicides are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders who live below the poverty line, and understanding the intersection of poverty with suicidal ideation is a must-do on the ways forward.

In response to an alarming 9.1 per cent increase in Australians taking their own lives last year, a national suicide and self-harm monitoring system could be established.

Suicide prevention will also be raised as a priority at the next Council of Australian Governments meeting and elevated to a whole-of-government issue.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said his department would work with the National Mental Health Commission to develop a system that aims to stop suicide and self-harm.

“Our government remains committed to reducing the impact of suicide on our community and ensuring Australians of all ages have access to the support they need to face life’s challenges,” Mr Hunt said.

Mr Georgatos said to reduce suicide we must reduce not only the number of attempted suicides, “but also the hospital admission rate for self-harm, the rate of domestic violence, the prevalence of bullying, and the least discussed tragedy in the nation — child sexual abuse”.

Rape or sexual assault: what do I do now?1:29

If you or someone you know, believe that you've been sexually assaulted, raped or harassed, it's hard to know what to do. This video will take you through the next steps.